Saturday, December 9, 2017

Me working on a demonstration painting at my painting from photographs workshop December 9th, 2017, at The Coppini Academy of Fine Arts in San Antonio, Texas. Thank you to all who attended. It was a wonderful day.

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

This past Saturday, I held a one day workshop at the Coppini Academy of Fine Arts. My thanks goes out to everyone who not only attended, but taught me more than I knew the day before.

Workshops aren't just about me doling out information to students. I get as much as I give. You see, every time a student asks a question, I have to have an answer. There's no option for an "I don't know" moment. If I don't have an answer, I have to ask questions of the student, and this back and forth continues until we reach the "ah ha!" moment, together.

Everyone works differently, and every new student brings me a new way of approaching painting. This is the best part. I've never told any student that "this is the only way to paint." I don't believe there is any right or wrong way. No matter what I suggest, whether it's materials, subject matter or paint application; every student is welcome to take only the parts that work for them. By welcoming students to create their own approach, I'm forced to understand and critique those approaches as well. Nothing helps me to evolve as a painter more.

So once again, thank you to all of my students/teachers.

I have a number of workshops coming up in 2017. Check my website to find out when and where.

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

When I tell someone I've just met that I'm a painter, they often ask "what do you paint?" My answer is always the same - "Everything."

Variety in subject matter is essential to any representational painter wishing to further their skills. There are painters known for landscapes, portraits, flowers, nocturnes, dogs, or even "painters of light." Painting only one subject can quickly make an artist's work formulaic and eventually devolve into a gimmick. It's natural for us to find "rules" that govern our approach to painting certain subjects, but in so doing it's also easy to drift away from painting what we actually see. When faced with a challenging subject, we tend to fall back on the rules rather than truly painting the scene before us.

The choice to be or not to be formulaic is a personal one, and many great artists utilize formula to create beautiful and moving works, but it can be limiting. A new formula is required for each and every subject. I know many landscape painters who are afraid to paint portraits and portrait painters who are afraid to paint landscapes. How is painting a landscape any different than a portrait? Aren't they both just a collection of shapes, values and colors laid out in a specific pattern that creates the illusion of the physical world?

It's easy to fall back on the shorthand our brain creates for everything around us. We remind ourselves that eyes are a certain distance apart, flowers are made of petals or that water reflects, but these things do not always visually appear the way we think they should. When we rely on the "formula," paintings can become disjointed, as we might have a clear understanding of the thing we're painting in one portion of the canvas but not in another.

Painting a variety of subjects can improve the ability to paint what one actually sees, as it forces us to confront the unknown which we do not have a formula or shorthand for. Forget that you're painting a face, or a tree, or a flower. Paint shapes defined by differences in value, edges and color. Every subject should be approached the same way.

In my own work, I tend to go through periods of painting different subjects, and when I shift gears the effects are astonishing. Last winter I painted a number of portrait studies at the Coppini Academy of Fine Arts in San Antonio, Texas. That experience provided me with a tremendous improvement in accuracy - which is required to capture a likeness. The nine months that followed was spent painting landscapes on the plein air circuit. It's very easy to stylize a landscape without the painting looking inaccurate, but stylization can also create issues when elements such as architecture are added. The practice of painting portraits made it much easier for me to quickly and accurately capture the landscape before me, whatever it consisted of. Now, I'm once again painting portrait studies at the Coppini, and I can now see the effect landscape painting has had on my portraits. My brushwork is more exciting, colors are more varied and the compositions are far more spontaneous.

In reality, I may be painting a variety of subjects, but in approach the variety is only in shapes, values, edges and colors.

Monday, January 9, 2017

Music is a top priority for me when painting. Unless I'm in the midst of a demonstration, I never paint with out it. I know this is true of a lot of my fellow painters, although our taste in music is as varied as our painting styles. The reasons I rely on music so much - rhythm and "the zone."

Music puts me in a rhythm and sets the pace of a painting. The pace is all a matter of personal preference. While many prefer a calm and soothing melody, I listen to a more intense soundtrack with a driving beat. I want intensity and energetic brushstrokes. Faster, louder music keeps me moving quickly and keeps my energy up during the painting process.

More importantly, music puts me in "the zone." When you really get into a painting groove, and everything seems to be going right, that's "the zone." It's that point where you are so focused on painting that all distractions fall away. Painting becomes instinctual. I find myself reacting directly to the values, shapes and colors before me rather than thinking about the "thing" that I may be painting. The zone keeps me from overthinking, overpainting and overworking. It's a kind of dance (and sometimes that literally happens). I find my brush moves more fluidly and I instinctively handle decisions regarding what to do next in the painting.

I tend to think too much, and music brings my focus into the moment. It blocks out all distractions. When I was younger, I would crank up the stereo and take a nap. For a couple of decades, I played in punk rock bands and the music was a way of blocking out everything else. That feeling remains while listening to music and painting. Music helps me relax so much, that I don't worry about the final painting and focus on the experience. That's "the zone," and one of the main reasons I paint.

Sporting the 70's Goldtop (and a full head of hair)
before realizing I was better suited for painting.

I get a lot of questions about what I'm listening to every time Kimberly posts a photo of me painting with headphones, so below are my latest top 15 bands by number of plays. I'm not recommending these - to each their own, but it works for me.

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

For those of you who may have missed the opportunity to own an original painting that I've already sold, I'm offering high quality prints and cards. You can choose from a wide selection of images in various sizes. These prints and cards ship directly to your door and are very affordable.

Browse the paintings on my website, and email me via my contact page to get current pricing on prints or cards of the painting of your choice.